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"I'm glad you talked her out of doing anything rash." She stated before changing the subject, "I'm planning on bringing in Saji-kun earlier than I had originally calculated. He's too exposed as a human and I am unwilling to potentially lose a Dragon-type Sacred Gear to these Purifiers."
"You do know that he has a crush on you?" Rias teased her friend.
"A feeling that is not reciprocated, I can assure you." Sona replied dryly, "Besides, I know for a fact that three of my Peerage have expressed interest in him. Once I bring him in, I dare say they won't hesitate to show him why female Devils have a lusty reputation."
"Good for them." Rias nodded approvingly. In her opinion, people should be honest with their emotions and desires, without being egotistical about it like a certain Phenex Scion was. It was for this reason she found the Perverted Trio amusing, especially one Hyōdō Issei as he was honest, wore his emotions on his sleeve and cute.
"So Hyōdō-kun is all mine?" Rias smiled, but her eyes had that core of desperation that Sona had seen more and more frequently as every attempt she and Rias could think of or scheme about to have the Phenex engagement nullified failed.
"If you can convince him, then he is yours." The bespectacled Devil nodded. It was an agreement that she and Rias had struck the first day they had set foot in Kuō Town. Upon finding someone that one of them wanted to join their Peerage, the other had to be informed immediately to see if they were interested. Additionally, if one claimed a powerful Sacred Gear user, the next one would go to the other King automatically unless they didn't want them.
Until recently, the agreement had benefited Sona immensely, as Rias hadn't been interested in the ones she had seen. Sona's Peerage had swollen and she liked them all, even loved her Queen, Tsubaki, as a sister. Rias had Akeno the Priestess of Thunder, a [Queen], Kiba, a [Knight], Koneko, a [Rook] and Gaspar, a [Bishop]. Of those, Gaspar the [Bishop] had been sealed away due to his lack of control of his Sacred Gear, [Forbidden Balor View]. Kiba had access to [Sword Birth], a powerful Sacred Gear that could produce swords of every attribute except light, while Koneko was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. Akeno used the barest hints of her heritage as a Nephilim, the child of a Fallen and a human, in her thunder magic, but was a standard [Queen] otherwise.
Raiser Phenex had a full fifteen piece Peerage, including his younger sister Ravel as a [Bishop]. His queen, Yubelluna, was known as the infamous Bomb Queen, specialising in explosively powerful fire magic. Raiser had only lost twice in his few Rating Games…losses he had conceded as a favour to the houses that his opposing Peerage belonged to.
A part of the marriage contract that Rias would be forced to invoke in two months' time was the Rating Game against Raiser. He was older, more powerful, more experienced and possessed more pieces than she did. Raiser could simply swamp Rias' Peerage with numbers. Even if he lost every single piece other than himself, he was still highly likely to win due to his Phenex Regeneration, which had been proven to even regenerate its bearer from attacks made by the Bael's Power of Destruction.
No matter how Sona looked at it, her friend was doomed.
Still…the first signal that she'd been able to scan from Hyōdō Issei had been that of a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, which was pretty rare. Dragon types varied in strength between the common [Twice Critical] and the two Sacred Gears of the Nitenryū, the Two Heavenly Dragons, the [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing]. None of Raiser's Peerage possessed Sacred Gears, so having at least one gave Rias a slight advantage…on paper. Depending on what Hyōdō's Sacred Gear was, it could have quite the impact on the outcome of the game.
"You do have to consider the possibility that he will say no, you know." Sona cautioned Rias.
Crystal blue eyes rolled in dismissal. "He wants a harem, and those are hardly rare or even uncommon in Devil society. Once I tell him that, he'll be eating out of my hand. With Akeno and I as examples of Devils, he'd be someone else to say no."
"And Koneko?" Sona raised an eyebrow.
"She is far too young to be used for seduction tactics." Rias stated firmly, "She will be a looker when she fully matures, but that time isn't now."
It was something that severely irritated the former Nekoshō. Her mental maturity was far in advance of her physical maturity. Although, as she hadn't even revealed her tail and ears in many years, nor had she so much as touched Senjutsu, she was able to fully suppress the mating instinct of her race with moderate ease. Still, being called the Mascot of Kuō Academy was more than slightly irksome for the girl.
Quite understandable, in Sona's opinion.
"We'd better get on." She said at last, "Our Peerages are busy working, so we can't have them show us up, can we?"
"Just so." Rias nodded, "Well then, until tomorrow, Sona."
"Tomorrow, Rias."
In twin flashes of red and blue, the ORC club room was empty once again.
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